MORE REPUBLICAN DOMINATION ON THE WAY? Kentucky’s 2015 Primary Elections

On Tuesday, May 19, Kentucky held its primary elections for the following offices: Governor (and Lieutenant Governor), Secretary of State, Treasurer, Attorney General, Auditor, and Commissioner of Agriculture. Here are the results, starting with the Secretary of State’s race (I will discuss the Governor’s race last since it is practically the main event amidst these elections, not to mention there was an unexpected twist in the Governor’s Republican Primary).

In the race for Secretary of State, incumbent Alison Lundergan Grimes defeated Charles Lovett in the Democratic Primary. Grimes will go on to face Republican Steve Knipper (who had no opponent in the primary) in the general election.

In the Attorney General’s race, Democratic candidate Andy Beshear had no opposition in the primary. In the Republican Primary, Whitney Westerfield defeated Michael T. Hogan.

In the race for Auditor, incumbent Adam Edelen had no opposition in the Democratic Primary. Edelen will go on to face Republican Mike Harmon (who had no opposition in the primary) in the general election.

In the race for Commissioner of Agriculture, Ryan Quarles defeated Richard Heath in the Republican Primary. Quarles will go on to face Democrat Jean-Marie Lawson Spann (who had no opponent in the primary) in the general election.

And now for the Governor’s race (the main event as mentioned earlier). In the Democratic Primary, Jack Conway defeated Geoff Young. In the Republican Primary, Matt Bevin defeated James Comer, Hal Heiner, and Will T. Scott. As mentioned, this primary had a twist due to the fact that it came down to the wire. Early on, Bevin had a substantial lead (several thousand votes to be exact), with Heiner in second, Comer in third, and Scott in fourth. But as the night continued, there was a surge for Comer, and he jumped to second place.
Then as the results continued to come in, Comer led Bevin by around a hundred votes.
However, Bevin re-took the lead, and emerged victorious by around eighty votes. Since the outcome was determined by less than a hundred votes, Comer requested a canvass (in which the results from each county will be reviewed). The canvass will take place on May 28. So the victory will go to either Bevin or Comer.

For years, the Democrats dominated the general election for Kentucky’s state constitutional officials. Hopefully this year, the Republicans will dominate.

About the author: Andrew Linn

Andrew Linn is a member of the Owensboro Tea Party and a former Field Representative for the Media Research Center. An ex-Democrat, he became a Republican one week after the 2008 Presidential Election. He has an M.A. in history from the University of Louisville, where he became a member of the Phi Alpha Theta historical honors society. He has also contributed to examiner.com and Right Impulse Media.